


nothing left to do but talk

by Enrinkari



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: M/M, do you have to tag it 'major character death' if the characters are already dead?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 20:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20936138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enrinkari/pseuds/Enrinkari
Summary: zul and rastakhan meet again after they die to talk things out





	nothing left to do but talk

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this... months ago? oops.

Zul opened his eyes and looked around in a panic. Last thing he remembered was being attacked in Uldir before his world went dark. Now he looked around and though he somehow shone with a faint light, all around him was darkness. He looked himself over and noticed he had no injuries, but he was also somewhat translucent. Ah, he thought to himself. I am dead again and this time for good. He then realized something. My own thoughts are the only ones in my head! 

"You be thinkin' the worm be gettin' ya 'ere, 'Prophet'?" Zul heard the voice of Bwonsamdi around him, but didn't see him.

"G'huun did the first time I died" he said. 

"Because it be claimin' ya before I could. But now you're 'ere with good old Bwonsamdi." Bwonsamdi's laughter filled the void. "You be 'ere now foreva."

"Where be...here anyways?" Zul was confused. He'd never heard of an empty void as an afterlife.

"Someone I be making a deal wit be 'aving a problem wit ya. Especially after ya be betrayin' 'im. So now ya be waitin' for me to claim 'is soul before you move on."

Zul wondering who that could be for a second, but then he knew. "Rastakhan made a deal with you?!" Zul yelled into the void, but Bwonsamdi didn't answer. Zul sighed. He floated there, wondering how long he would be here. Rastakhan would probably live another 100 years at least. At least he no longer had the whispers of G'huun in his head. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the peace in his head.

_ You think you deserve this peace? _ new whispers said, but this time in his own voice.  _ You BETRAYED your king. You BETRAYED your friend! You caused him to have to make a deal with Bwonsamdi. BWONSAMDI of all Loa! _ Zul growled and shook his head, trying to get rid of the whispers. But they persisted and got louder.  _ IF YOU WEREN'T SO WEAK YOU COULD HAVE FOUGHT OFF G'HUUN. YOU COULD HAVE WARNED RASTAKHAN. YOU COULD HAVE CHANGED EVERYTHING. _ Zul put his hands to his ears. "Stop it stop it stop it!" he yelled. The whispers went quiet, except for one that whispered to him.  _ You could have been with him. You're unrequited love wasn't unrequited. But you were too weak, and too scared. And now you're dead and he hates you. You deserve this punishment. _

Zul curled up in a ball and hugged his knees. The whispers were right. He deserved this for betraying his friend. For being too weak to fight off G'huun as many others in his place had done for centuries. For everything he did. His ears went low as he steeled himself for a long time of this hell that he earned.

~~~

Rastakhan refused to open his eyes. He knew he was dead. He wanted the last thing he saw to be the face of his daughter. So he floated there for a while, eyes closed, waiting for something to happen. However, nothing did. So he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw nothing but darkness around him. This isn't what he thought serving Bwonsamdi in death would be like.

"Oh, it isn't," Bwonsamdi's voice cut through the void, as if reading Rastakhan's thoughts. "But. I be feelin'...nice, yer majesty." He heard a snapping of fingers and saw a very faint light in the distance. "I be 'avin' a surprise for ya, just go to da light." Rastakhan was confused, but started towards the light.

After what felt like an eternity, he was almost at the light. Looking at it, he saw it was another troll. Upon closer look, he felt himself fill with anger. Bwonsamdi had a weird way of being nice. "ZUL!" he roared as he came up on the other troll.

Zul, who had been floating there, fighting off his own whispers, heard Rastakhan's voice and his ears shot up. "Rast-" he turned and started to say but Rastakhan's fist landed on the side of his face, sending him flying. 

"ZUL. YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" Rastakhan floated over to Zul and held him above him by the neck. "How DARE you enter my sight again after what you've done! After what you did! I guess Bwonsamdi is giving me my chance for revenge at least!" His grip tightened around Zul's neck. He knew he couldn't kill Zul, but he could cause him a lot of pain.

Zul's ears were super low, and though he was in pain, he didn't try to fight back. "You're right, Rastakhan," he said in a whisper. "I don't deserve to be around you after it all. I'm sorry Bwonsamdi made you see me but at least some good can come from this."

Rastakhan glared at Zul. He wasn't acting like he was in life. He seemed so...defeated. "What's your game, you saurid fucker? Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Because I deserve everything you're going to do to me," Zul replied, looking away. "I betrayed the empire. I betrayed YOU, who was not only my king but my...friend." He looked down at Rastakhan. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to fight off G'huun, Rasta. I'm sorry I was so weak. I know it doesn't matter anymore, but I'm sorry."

Rastakhan huffed. He was still full of anger, but part of him couldn't fight Zul if he wasn't going to fight back. He let go of Zul and watched him float down a little. Zul looked up at him, confused. "I'm not going to fight you if you aren't going to fight back. It doesn't feel right." Rastakhan glared at him, but his eyes held a hint of sadness. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide your trouble fighting G'huun? We could have helped." He looked down. "I could have helped."

Zul looked away from Rastakhan. "I thought I could do it myself. Plus, I didn't want to bother you with my problems. I didn't think I was worthy enough to."

"Zul you were my FRIEND!" Rastakhan turned and yelled at him, making Zul flinch. "My closest friend! I would have dropped everything to help you, especially something that important!" They floated there in silence for a long time, both stewing in their own thoughts.

Finally, Zul quietly spoke up. "How...How long has it been?"

Rastakhan gave a bark of a laugh. "Can you believe, but only a few months? The Alliance got brazen and tricked us, drawing most of our forces away from Dazar'Alor before attacking."

"No. Was Talanji..."

"She went to investigate the trick and luckily wasn't in the city. She survived." Rastakhan frowned. "I don't doubt she can lead our people. But to think I've cursed her to have Bwonsamdi as her Loa..."

"She will be fine, Rasta," Zul said softly. "She has your stubbornness. I doubt even the Loa of Death is going to be able to push her around. She will be a wonderful queen." Rastakhan said nothing but felt a little more relaxed. Zul was right. He was always right when he was clear headed. He went to speak but Zul started talking first. "I am sorry. I should have fought harder. All this is, basically, my fault. The lost of Rezan caused you to go to Bwonsamdi."

"Zul... You didn't force me to make a deal with Bwonsamdi. I chose him myself. Because I thought he was the strongest." Rastakhan sighed. "How long were you fighting G'huun for?"

"For a long time, though it really picked up after the Cataclysm." Zul looked at Rastakhan and he saw how tired Zul looked. "The shifting of the earth gave him more freedom and he was able to get to me easier. I was pretty much under his control from that point on, though some days I was able to be more myself."

"For that long? Zul..." Rastakhan was surprised. He remembered how different Zul had been after the Cataclysm, but just thought the Prophet was more stressed. After all he had gone to the other troll tribes afterwards, and tried to bring back the Thunder King to no avail. "You shouldn't have suffered alone for so long, my friend. You should have told me."

Hearing Rastakhan call him a friend again almost broke Zul. "I...couldn't bring myself to. You had so much more to worry about. Plus, like I said, after the Cataclysm G'huun basically had me, so I couldn't have told you even if I wanted to." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Rasta..."

"I'm...I'm sorry too, Zul." Zul's ears went straight up and he looked at Rastakhan, confused. "I should have noticed something was different about you, but instead I ignored it. I ignored you. As your leader, I wasn't a good king. As your friend, I sucked at that too."

"Rasta... You were a great king and a great friend. I just never felt I deserved your friendship." Zul looked away from Rastakhan nervously. "I never felt good enough to be around you."

"Zul, why would you ever think that? I mean, you saved my life! Multiple times! Without you I would have been dead sooner!" Rastakhan laughed. "In fact, it was I who never felt good enough to be with you. You were an amazing prophet, who worked hard to get to where he was. Me? I was born into my place in the world. I was nothing compared to you." He laughed more. "Heck, I never learned how to hex properly!"

Zul began to laugh a little as well, Rastakhan's laughter being infectious. "Please. I remember that like it was yesterday. The fact you would ribbit whenever you had the hiccups was the greatest mystery of the royal family for years." At this point, both of them were laughing so much to talk, and for a few minutes, everything felt right. 

As they settled back down, they looked at each other, though Zul looked away quickly. "You should probably get going to wherever you should be," Zul said quietly, sadness in his voice. "I'm sure I still have some sort of punishment waiting for me here, so..."

Rastakhan shook his head and put his hand on Zul's shoulder. "I'm not going to leave you alone to suffer. Not again."

Zul looked at him, shocked, ears low again. "But after everything I did.... I don't... I deserve..."

Rastakhan took his hand off Zul's shoulder and placed it on Zul's cheek, causing the frantic troll to go quiet. "You didn't do the things you did because you wanted to," Rastakhan said softly. "You were forced to, even though you fought for so long. I see that, now. And I forgive you, Zul." 

Before anything else could be said, Bwonsamdi's laughter surrounded them. "And there it be! Okay, yer majesty, it be time to be goin'!"

"Not without Zul," Rastakhan growled, his hand now moving to grip Zul's. His ears flicked slightly when he felt Zul grab lightly back, but tried to show no emotion otherwise. Not in front of Bwonsamdi.

"But ya know 'e can't be comin' wit ya. Also, you really tink it be wise to make a demand to da Loa of Death when ya dead?" They both could feel Bwonsamdi's anger around them.

"You should listen to him, Rasta. I'll...I'll be fine." Zul didn't want to leave Rastakhan's side again, but he also didn't want anything to happen to Rastakhan because he angered Bwonsamdi.

Rastakhan was stubborn, however. "You are still my Loa, Bwonsamdi. Even in death. Do this one last thing for me. You have bigger problems than me to worry about, anyways. Like dealing with my daughter." He smirked, knowing he was right.

Bwonsamdi sighed, and the atmosphere got calm again. "Fine, fine, ya royals be so demandin'. Ya little pet can stay wit ya." They heard the snapping of fingers, and a bright light shone near them. "Just get goin'."

The two Zandalari, still holding the other's hand, floated close to the light before stopping. "Rasta.... thank you." Zul said quietly.

Rastakhan chuckled. "Oh hush Zul. I couldn't spend my life with you, so I might as well spend my death with you instead." Zul turned to ask what that meant but was met instead with Rastakhan pressing his lips against his in a kiss. Zul froze, and Rastakhan pulled away, looking a little worried. "Oh... I'm..." he started to stumble out an apology, but Zul grabbed his tusks and pulled him back into another kiss, one Rastakhan returned with all the want he had had when alive. They slowly pulled away from each other and began to laugh as they walked into the light. Whatever was next for them in the afterlife, at least they would be facing it together.

**Author's Note:**

> ((the frog/hex thing is from my other ZulRasta story sorry sorry sorry))


End file.
